It's a Wonderful Night for Oscar!

best actor and actress?? isn't that weird???

Something just struck me about these awards that I don't think I have ever thought before, but now when I think about it, it seems so absolutely silly and shocking!  It seems archaic rather.

Does anyone thing it's strange that there are different awards for best actor and best actress?

There aren't separate awards for best male editor and best female editor.  Or best male or female writer.  In fact acting is the only category that has a separate award based on your gender.  Doesn't that seem weird?  Especially when it seems painfully obvious most of these award shows are tying to make equality an issue with race and other categories??

Re:best actor and actress?? isn't that weird???

Hm... heady topic, Rizzo.  Since I earn my living from being a civil rights investigator, and since I'm a woman, I will endeavor to chime in with your musings.

First of all, having a best actor and best actress award is, at its core, equal.  It is forcing the Academy to evaluate actors and actresses on the same set of criteria, but pitting men against men and women against women.

That being said, you are wondering why men cannot be evaluated against women.  Maybe one day, it will happen.  First off, though, we have tradition going against it, and the Academy is a very traditional institution.  That's why they can be so predictable.  Second, you are presuming that the Academy is at a level where it can feasibly evaluate, without bias, a man's performance versus a woman's performance in the same category, but there are logistical problems with that, since men often play roles only men can play and women often play roles only women can play.  For example, with the exception of that awful Junior movie, for example, a woman could only play roles about childbirth and pregnancy.  Then, we have issues of sex and sexuality, biographical pictures with gender-specific requirements (I mean, occasionally Bob Dylan will be played by Cate Blanchett, but you get my drift), and how do you evaluate what can be a greater performance when pitting a man's experience as portrayed by a man versus a woman's experience as portrayed by a woman.  I'm ignoring any transsexual performances for now because that is a whole other set of complications.

In any event, however, improving gender equality has never been an issue for the Academy.  Race equality has always been a big issue because non-white men weren't evaluated the same as white men, and non-white women weren't evaluated the same as white women, within each respective category, using each respective category's allegedly "universal" criteria, and there are very few roles (except historical, again) that necessarily call for a specific person with a specific race.  The Academy has largely been comprised of white voters since its inception, and they are humans with biases.  Aside from an occasional multicultural actor receiving accolades in past decades (Hattie McDaniel, Sidney Poitier, Whoopi Goldberg), the Academy hasn't experienced a level playing field multiculturally until this very decade, when diversity/equality became an "issue," as you say.

Are we at a point where we can say that having gender-separate acting awards is archaic and against the tenets of cultural inclusion?  I would argue "no."  But I would also argue that with the positive steps the Academy is making now, we may be close to the point at which we can say that, and maybe it will change in the future, provided the Academy feels ready to reinvent itself to make it compatible with modern cultural awareness.  Or, until public outcry is louder than the voice of tradition.  Either way.

Thoughtful question, though. 

Re:Re:best actor and actress?? isn't that weird???

Pippin, good answer.

I realize that if I try to respond to the concept that it would be more difficult to evaluate how good a performance is amonst both men and women together rather than just amongst one group, it would reveal the fact that I think the idea of awards are ridiculous anyways.  Which of course is basically a direct attack on probably most people's interest in this group anyways.  But then I guess that's a whole other conversation.

I was thinking about the whole thing with race becomming an "issue" with the awards lately anyways.  What I find interesting is that it's generally only an issue in the acting awards...   Again kind of weird to me.

Maybe I was just pointing out that there are different categories for acting for each gender to further show just how kind of silly award shows are.  Maybe soon we can have categories like The Best Latino Sound Editor or The Best Bisexual Matte Painter.

Re:Re:Re:best actor and actress?? isn't that weird???

This comes a week later, but I was considering my answer.  Awards shows may be silly, but some people (myself included) can't help but be addicted to them.  I have no explanation for you as to why.  Maybe because I have a lot of useless energy and need to overanalyze stuff, and it's a perfect marriage of the two impulses.  I think others, within and without this group, are looking for some good recommendations in movies.  You may not have to worry, though: the writers' strike may put the kibosh, literally or for all intents and purposes, on awards shows this season, including my beloved Oscars.  *sigh*

I don't think race has only been an issue in the acting awards.  I think it's been a more public issue for those awards, given the public nature of celebrity.  There have been multicultural nominees in other categories in the past, but I struggle to think of one who's taken home a big prize (and Foreign Language awards categories don't count).  Spike Lee and other directors of color have been nominated, but they haven't won.  Ang Lee won for Brokeback Mountain for the first time in a regular (not foreign language) directing category.  It's a matter of perspective, but I don't think it's quite as much of a non-issue as all that.

Awards shows may take themselves too seriously for some, but they are still a reflection of pop culture and other types of culture and, to that end, I think they have to be aware and take steps to be aware of who their audiences (and participants) are.  In other words, I don't think you'll have the chance to scoff at the idea of Best <special class> something or other because I think the Academy and other organizations are taking steps to move toward equality rather than away from it.  PC is in, after all, and having such awards is not exactly PC.  Also, as ideologically satisfying as it would be to hold gender equality up to other kinds of equality and say all are held in similar regard, it's just not possible.  Some movements have been more successful than others, though I'm sure if NOW cared about the Oscars, they would argue for one award for all actors.

Though, as you said, you think the whole concept of awards are silly, but, hey, everyone likes a little recognition, and how else can it be made fair, equal, and sellable to the masses?  It's all a big business anyway.